Gaming is an industry heavily regulated by federal, state, and local government. Gaming regulators ensure table rules and slot machines are calibrated or programmed to provide a reasonable rate of return to their players. Typically, for slot machines, gaming regulators set a minimum and sometimes a maximum rate of return. These “return rates”, which are the counterpart to casino “hold percentages,” are set to provide the specified rate of return to players over a relatively large number of games, or “pulls.” In other words, if a game is configured for a return rate of 95%, the game should approximate that return rate over a period of play. Of course, the game's volatility could cause it to pay far above or below its configured return rate over short periods, but the game should approach its configured return rate as the period of play increases.
In most jurisdictions, gaming regulators will specify a minimum return rate—say 75%. Of course, a gaming machine that pays back more than it takes in—which by definition it does if the return rate is >100%—it cannot be profitable for the casino. Some casinos will configure a few of their games at >100% payback as a marketing ploy but generally a game's return rate is set somewhere above the regulated minimum return rate and an upper amount of <100%.
The “volatility” of a game refers to how often and how much a game pays. A game may achieve, for example a 0.85 return rate by paying relatively low wins fairly often (low volatility), or by paying relatively large wins fairly infrequently (high volatility). In both cases the average payout of the game equals the specified 0.85 return rate, but how that rate is paid out differs significantly. Some players prefer low volatile games, while others prefer higher volatility.
Casinos typically set the return rates somewhere between the minimum and to achieve maximum profit. Return rates set near the minimum make the most money per game played, but fewer people will choose to gamble because losses are so frequent. Higher return rates almost certainly instigate additional play but too high a return rate will decrease profits even more than increased volume can compensate for.
Changing the hold percentages and volatility of games typically requires the casino operator to physically change a computer chip on the game, although newer technology allows “electronic downloading of a different hold percentage or volatility characteristic. Regardless of how configured, the volatility and payback characteristics of a game are held constant, regardless of individual player desire or worth. Casinos have long recognized that some players are worth more than others and that some players prefer different volatility characteristics than others.
Bonuses are paid above and beyond the pay table of the base game. Bonuses, such as cash bonuses or other credits are used to reward repeat customers and encourage them to frequent a particular casino. Bonuses are often awarded through a system that tracks a player's play, known as “player tracking” systems. After the player has played a minimum number of hands, or satisfies other criteria, the casino awards the player a bonus in some form. Such bonuses allow the casino to offer certain players a higher overall payback for a given wager amount but bonuses cannot significantly impact the volatility of the game itself.
Some players do not like to use player tracking cards because they feel that the casino will “punish” them if they receive a big win on the underlying base game, and not pay another win for a relatively long time. These concerns exist even though player tracking systems only add to the winnings of the underlying base game, and do not take away from it. Such distrust causes many players to play without a card inserted, even if playing with such a card ultimately benefits the player.
Casinos would like to entice players to use cards while gaming so that the casinos can provide a more customized entertainment experience for each player, but the distrust prevents many players from using the player tracking cards.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other issues in the prior art.